Registrar of the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA) Dr Philip Bannor, has called for a concerted effort towards improving access to standardized health care delivery in Ghana.
He said through strategic partnerships with international not-for-profit organizations like PharmAccess Group, HeFRA is working hard to finish the ‘decentralization journey’ making sure that the regional offices can provide support by monitoring other facilities in the region.
According to him, there are plans to continue improving the processes where he can, and looks forward to a continued partnership with PharmAccess.
PharmAccess, he said, is “strongly linked to healthcare standards, and access to quality care.”
According to Dr Bannor, PharmAccess engages and partners with the right stakeholders, helping HeFRA to achieve the strategic goal of access to quality of care in Ghana.”
The Registrar of HeFRA, Ghana’s healthcare regulatory body said when it comes to our health care, all people want to know is how and where we can receive the best possible care, but the absence of data to enable citizens to make informed health-seeking decisions is a source of worry.
According to him, the problem stems from the lack of a singular national system that assesses all health care providers through the same set of standards.
“This leaves citizens choosing their doctors based on advertisements rather than data,” he observed.
Dr Bannor and HeFRA need data. It is against this backdrop to help manage and collect that vital data, that HeFRA launched a Mobile Online Information System (MOIS).
Among other things, this platform collects and organizes information on every step of the inspection to license pipeline.
Dr Bannor said he was dedicated and well-positioned, to address the problem thoroughly.
He said before opening a health facility in Ghana, HeFRA is required to carry out an inspection and provide a license, confirming the facility reaches acceptable safety and quality requirements.
HeFRA also inspects the availability of certified staff and ensures everyone who operates medical equipment has the necessary license.
HeFRA, therefore, plays a critical role in establishing a health system in Ghana that is well-functioning and safe for those that visit or work in health facilities.
“I don’t know where I would be without data,” said Dr Bannor.
“We would never want to go back to the slow, paper-based system of the past. Soon, HeFRA hopes to integrate information systems with other health and government agencies, further expanding its potential.
Whether you are dealing with diabetes, cardiac issues, or search for an obstetrician, Dr Bannor said, “you need access to objective information on where to find the true expert.”
Once this information becomes publicly available, Dr Bannor thinks competition will increase, and the level of care will improve alongside it.
One area where we have already seen the value of data has been throughout the Covid crisis.
He said stakeholders in the health delivery value chain have already been surprised by some data insights.
For example, during the height of the pandemic in Ghana, authorities expected an increase in demand for hospital resources.
In reality, however, there was actually a decrease. HeFRA found through their collection of data that many people were avoiding or postponing visits to hospitals and clinics.
“That is why you need data to inform the government of what they need to do,” he explained.
Apart from digitalization, data collection, and access to information, HeFRA has worked vigorously to make the organization more efficient to reduce bottlenecks.
HeFRA can potentially regulate over 13,000+ facilities in the country, and until a few years ago, much of the work and decision-making was concentrated between head office and a few smaller regional offices.
To improve the workflow, HeFRA opened additional regional offices and decentralized its decision-making process.
With more eyes and ears in the field, monitoring becomes better manageable, limited resources are spent more effectively, and communication lines are shortened.
Dr. Bannor also worked on formalizing and harmonizing assessment standards that were used by different health agencies in the country.
PharmAccess supported this ‘efficiency journey’ with a detailed management review, evaluating whether management systems were performing as intended and producing the desired results as efficiently as possible.
“A tedious job, for which we are very thankful,” Dr Bannor said.
Looking at the future, Dr Bannor said he hoped Ghana will soon be able to match its demand for health care with quality providers.
“Imagine you are struggling with mental health issues and you feel that no one is taking care of you at a moment you really need it, it means you will lose the trust in the system,” he observed
To solve this, he said it was time to broaden the availability of care by giving more leeway to the private sector.
The HeFRA boss says “The private sector can fill a gap and help us, ensuring that people do not have to wait long to receive care. But evidently, quality assessments remain critical, and we need to assess private facilities with the same standards as used in the public sector.”
PharmAccess focuses on the root causes that hamper health care financing and investments towards equitable and quality health care in sub-Saharan Africa. Working as an innovator and catalyst for pragmatic solutions that can be adopted, adapted, and scaled by partners.